Schrödinger’s Catgirl: Hoyoverse, Cybernesis, and the Ethnography of Metaverse
Schrödinger’s Catgirl: Hoyoverse, Cybernesis, and the Ethnography of Metaverse
Author(s): M.J. AdamsSubject(s): Sociology, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, ICT Information and Communications Technologies
Published by: Editura Universitatii Transilvania din Brasov
Keywords: metaverse; cybernetics; dividuality; ethnographic methods; psychological anthropology;
Summary/Abstract: "Metaverse" is not a Silicon Valley utopianism. It is a meaningful descriptor for an increasingly embodied and more deeply integrated internet. Nowhere is it more profound than in China, whose first forays into the metaverse have sent ripples the world over. This ethnography of China-based Hoyoverse, and a subsequent discussion, suggest the meaningful contributions ethnography can make to understanding the metaverse. And how the metaverse will in turn transform the discipline. All of this is articulated through the example of a cyborg catgirl, who may or may not be a mirage.
Journal: Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov, Series VII: Social Sciences and Law
- Issue Year: 16/2023
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 19-28
- Page Count: 10
- Language: English
